UPDATE:  A federal judge has ruled that the law banning the ability to require masks on school campuses is in violation of the rights of children with disabilities and puts them and their families at risk! This means the ability to require masks on school campuses is again in control of local school boards! It's time to let these decision-makers know that we need them totake action that serves the best interest of public health!

Recently 3 studies have come out showing that universal masking in schools makes a significant difference in rates of covid transmission in schools.:

A study sponsored by Cincinnati Children's Hospital showed that he rate of students getting diagnosed with COVID-19 was 78% higher in partially masked schools than those that had universal masking.(https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/09/21/cincinnati-childrens-study-masks-lower-covid-19-cases-quarantines-school/5800121001/

The CDC has released similar data. 

After accounting for other confounding factors, counties without mask requirements experienced larger increases in pediatric COVID-19 case rates compared to those that did. ( https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e3.htm?s_cid=mm7039e3_w

In a study of Arizona school systems, the odds of a COVID outbreak in the school was 3.7 times higher in those schools that had no mask requirements. (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e1.htm?s_cid=mm7039e1_w

We need school districts to make these tough decisions to provide for the safety of students, staff and community members. Let's implement these strategies NOW so we can avoid outbreaksa and illness and get to a place where we can safely return to normal!

The Delta Variant now dominates across the U.S. Case numbers are out of control. In Florida, deaths have reached a height never before seen in the pandemic. Children now make up 22% of new cases of Covid. And Iowa's numbers are rising swiftly. Only 45% of the state is fully vaccinated, and only 30% of children 12-17 are vaccinated. Additionally, children 0-11 make up half a million people in the state, none of which can be vaccinated at this time. These numbers are nowhere near protective for the community as a whole.

With schools back in session, and case counts rising rapidly in the state, mitigation strategies are crucial to limiting the spread of Covid. Laws that prohibit the ability of institutions to require masks put many at risk and threaten to prolong the pandemic. The CDC has made it abundantly clear all individuals in schools over the age of 2 should wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Multiple medical associations have repeated this recommendation, including the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, American Nursing Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Kim Reynolds and the state of Iowa have tied the hands of educators to protect their students.

We, the citizens of Iowa, condemn the reckless law put into effect, in the dark of night, banning the ability of local governments and K-12 schools to mandate the usage of masks. Face coverings are now a well-studied, proven, simple, effective, and inexpensive public health tool that is near-unanimously accepted as being an important component of our fight in this global pandemic. This law is a reckless act by Iowa Legislators and Governor Kim Reynolds that is anti-science and directly endangers public health. It defies CDC guidelines for schools whose populations are largely unvaccinated and puts the health of the public at risk.

Beyond these facts, the law is nonspecific and leaves these entities without recourse.

Let it be known we will not forget this careless disregard for public health at the ballot box.